Apparatus for applying bottle closures



June 17, 1930f J. A PEASE l '1,765,030

l APPARATUS FOR APPLYING-OTTLE CLOSURES Filed March 16, 1 928 2 Sheets-Sheet l` June 17, 1930. 1. A. PEASE 1,765,030

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING BOTTLE CLOSURES Filed March 16, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented .lune 17, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE JOHN' A.. PEASE, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO KLEEN KAP CORPORATION, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, A. CORPORATION OF NEW YORK APPARATUS FOR APPLYING BOTTLE- CLOSURES Application filed March 16, 1928. Serial No. 262,284.

This invention relates to an apparatus for applying milk bottle closures of the hood type, and has for its primary object to facilitate the constructing and applying of twoply closures to the filled bottles at one operation.

A further object is to provide a hood-like closure, which consists of a sheet of very thin gage metal, such as aluminum, preferably derived from an endless strip and fed over the bottle mouth, and a liber disc superposed thereon, the two members then being forced into the bottle mouth, the sheet of aluminum being of such area as to enable its marginal portions to be conformed to the entire bead, as well as the adjacent portion of the bottle neck in such manner that the hood may be self-retaining. It has been found that sheet aluminum of about one or two thousandths of an inch thickness may be readily conformed to the bead and the neck of the bottle, and as this particular metal possesses relatively great pliability, and being devoid of springiness, insures its ready molding to almost any shape, and there is no danger of the hood becoming loose or displaced by the ordinary handling of the bottle. I prefer aluminum to any other'metal or the fibrous materials in common use, because of the aforesaid characteristics, and also for the reason that it is not liable to tarnish, corrode or accumulate dust or other unsanitary matter. A further object is to provide novel mechanical means for conforming the metal member of the closure to the top portion of the bead, in combination with novel means for conforming and clamping the marginal portion of'said member to the underside of the bead and the adjacent neck portion. A further object is to provide means for moving the clamping mechanism relatively to the capping position for enabling the capped bottles to be removed and replaced by others, the said means being complemental to said clamping mechanism.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation, partially in section, showing the parts as they appear at the end of a capping operation. Fig. 2 is a top planv view of the same.4 Fig. 3 is a horizontal y section, taken on line 3-3 of Fig. l, showing the means for feeding and applying the fiber discs. Fig. 4 is a broken plan view showing the clamping mechanism extended for releasing the bottles. Fig. 5 is an end elevation, taken in the direction of the arrow in Fig. l. Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-section taken on line 6 6 of Fig. l. Fig. 7 is respectively a face and edge view of one of the fiber discs. Fig. 8 is a sectional view, similar to Fig. 6, showing the plunger and related parts in the inoperative positions, andthe clamping means spreadv apart as in Fig. 4; also showing the meansy for severing and feeding the sheets of metal towards the capping position. And Fig. 9 is a vertical cross-section taken on line 9 9 of Fig. 2.

It is to be expressly understood that the drawings are merely illustrative of the principle of the invention, showing by way of example, one manner in which the invention may be practiced.

In the drawing, 2 represents a portion of the neck of an ordinary milk bottle, 2 the bead that surrounds the sunken mouth, 2" the annular ledge or bottom of the mouth upon which the closures are usually seated, and 2yb is the abrupt shoulder at the intersection of the neck with the bead.

The closure in the present case comprises two members, one a relatively thin flat sheet of aluminum, or like pliable metal 3, which is preferably derived from an endless strip 3', the latter being coiled around a drum 3, the said strip being fed by any suitable means across a table 2c towards the bottle in the plane of the top surface/of the bead 2, the said sheet being severed from the strip 3 in advance of the capping operation by a shearing member as 3d. The sheets 3 are preferably substantially square in plan, and but one or two thousandths of an inch in thickness. The medial portion of sheet 3 is forcibly depressed into the mouth of the bottle by the usual plunger, as 4, which may be reciprocated vertically by an eccentric 4 driven by a shaft 4a, by any suitable source of power (not shown). The plunger 4 is supported in part and is guided by a sleeve 5 having a barrel 5', which is formed with opposed longitudinal slots 5a, that are loosely engaged by pins 4c carried by the plunger `(see Figs. 6 and 8) and by which arrangement the plunger may be moved independently of the sleeve during a portion of its upward and downward strokes, the said slots preferably being shorter than the full strokes of the plunger and enabling the latter to raise and lower the sleeve during the final movements of said strokes. The lower end of sleeve 5 is formed with an external annular flange 5* whose bottom overhangs and conforms to the flare of bead 2', said sleeve being formed at its rear side with a horizontal slot 5 (see Fig. 8), to facilitate the entrance of the` second member of the closure comprising a fiber reinforcing disc, as 7, which is superposed upon the member 3 (see Fig. 6).

6 represents another sleeve that loosely telescopes the sleeve 5, and is formed near its top with an inturned fiange 6. Sleeve 6 is resiliently supported by a coil spring 6a, which bears respectively against the fianges 5b and 6. The lower end of sleeve 6 is formed with a bell-flange 6c, which conforms to that portion of the bead Qthat lies beyond the fiange 5b (see Fig. 6). Above the sleeve 6 is disposed a coil spring 6d which engages respectively the flange 6 and a corresponding flange 4d of the plunger. The springs 6f-6d are preferably of different gage and strength, and tend to resist each other and at the same time provide the requisite resilience to enable the sleeves 5 and 6 to properly perform their Work.

The spring 6a is of greater strength than the spring 6d so as to compress the latter for enabling the lower or bell-end of sleeve 6 to be lifted slightly above the disc-feeding slot 5c when the plunger is in its uppermost or idle position.

The discs 7 are stacked in an ordinary upright magazine, as 7 from which the lowermost disc of the stack is fed towards the capping position by the usual ejector or shuttle 7 a, which may be operated by any well known means for example that shown in the J. L. Goldie Patent No. 1,711,838. The ejector 7a preferably comprises a main body, having a yoke 7 b which engages and moves thedisc clear of the magazine, anda member 7 slidable thereon, which completes the feeding operation, as may be understood from Figs. l

- and 3. Upon entering the interior of the sleeve 5 the disc 7 gravitates a short distance, but is preferably temporarily held from escape by a slight choke of the bore of the sleeve. The feed of disc 7 takes place the instant the plunger and related parts reach the elevated position, shown in Fig. 8, towards which position the plunger first moves upwardly alone a distance equal to the play of pins 4 in the slots 5.a. By this arrangement, the sleeve 6 owing to the relaxing of the springs 61-6d also moves upwardly, but to a slightly less extent than the plunger, while the sleeve 5 remains seated in the bottle mouth until it is finally lifted by the pins 4c engaging the top ends of slots 5a. This delayed movement disposes the lower end of the sleeve 5 in a lower plane than the corresponding end of sleeve 6, and considerably lower than the bottom of plunger 4, as may be understood from Fig. 8, and accordingly' exposes the slot 5c suiiiciently to permit the feeding of another disc 7. The timing of the operations of the several parts should be such that, immediately-following the delivery of the disc 7 to the chamber of sleeve 5, the plunger descends and compresses spring 6d as well as spring 6a, which effects the depressing of sleeves 5 and 6, but owing to the engagement of the bottom end of sleeve 5 while the pins 4c traverse the slots 5a. As the pressure of the springs 621--6c1 increases, it gradually depresses the medial portion of sheet 3 into the mouth of the bottle during the slight interval in which the plunger is moving downwardly alone, and when the pins 4c engage the bottom of the slots 5a the plunger, and sleeves 5 and 6, as well as the disc 7, are all moved as one part, fory completing the molding and seating of the closure upon the ledge 2a, as shown in Figs. 1, 5 and 6. The final downward movement of the sleeves 5 and 6 conform the sheet 3 to the whole top portion of the bead 2, and causes the marginal portions 3X of the sheet to droop, substantially as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 6. This assembling, and applying ofthe metallic and fibrous members of the closure to the bottle mouthland bead, is then followed by the molding and clamping of the margin 3X, to conform to the remaining portion of the bead and shoulder 2b, as shown in Fig. 6. This clamping operation is effected by similar semi-circular clamping jaws, 8-8, said jaws being formed with rearwardly extending arms 8a, the latter being pivoted' by devices 8b to an elongated support 9, which is slidable in a base 9 sufficiently to enable the jaws 8 8 to bey opened and closed, as shown in Figs. 4 and 8. The arms 8'r1 of the clamps extend rearwardiy of the pivots 8b and are connected by links 10, to the free ends of which is pivotally connected a rod 10, that is supported andfrom the bottle, in a horizontal plane, as

ports 9 9 may be moved towards and away shown in Fig. 1. The gear 14 is supported by bearings 14a secured to the underside of the table 12. The support 9 and base 9 are correspondingly slotted, as at 9a, and in said slot depends a lever 15 which is pivoted to an upright bracket 15, as shown at the right in Figs. 1 and 2. The lever 15 is also pivoted to the rear end of the rod 10 and its free end is disposed parallel to one face of the gear 14, and in the path of a pin 14c carried by said gear, and by which the said lever is rocked in the direction for closing the jaws 8-8 against the tension of spring 10b, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The pin 14c is so arranged that it engages the lever 15 slightly in advance of the final movement of the clamp towards the capping position, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and during the last slight rotation of gear 14 pin 14C swings the lever 15 as from the dotted line to the full line position, shown in Fig. 1, which eEects the spreading of arms 8a and the 4closing of the jaws 8 8, as shown in Fig. 2.

At the first slight rotation of gear 14 in the opposite or clockwise direction, the lever 15 is moved back into the inoperative position by the tension of spring 10", which also spreads the aWs 8-8, as shown in Fig. 4, ready for the clamp to be again shifted rearwardly for enabling the capped bottles to be removed, and so on. I have shown a crank for operating the gear 14, but it will be understood that the said gear may be operated by any suitable connection with the shaft 4a, and'that the ejector 7a, as Well as the drum 3a may also be operated in a well-known manner by said shaft. The source of power for operating the several parts of the apparatus and details of the means for effecting said operations may follow any well-known or usual construction, and it is not deemed necessary to show or describe the same in the present case. The jaws 8 8 are preferably lined with felt or other cushion material to prevent injury to the jaws or bottle, as well as to compensate for any slight irregularities of the bead or neck. In the foregoing, the timing or sequence of operation referred to may bemannally effected, or automatically, the latter by any well known means which constitutes no part of the present invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, is

1. In a device for assembling and applying two-part milk bottle closures, composed of a sheet of pliable metal and a fibrous disc, means to feed the sheet over the bottle mouth and to position said disc over said sheet in registry with the bottle mouth, means to engage and force the disc and the medial portion of said sheet into the mouth, means to conform the adjacent portion of said sheet to the portion of the bead that extends into the mouth, and means positioned below and movable laterally relative to the last named means to'conform theV marginal portion ofV said sheet to the remaining portion of the beald and the adjacent portion of the bottle nec 2. In a device for assembling and applying a two-part milk bottle closure, composed of a sheet of pliable metal and afibrous disc, means to sever said sheet from a continuous strip, means to simultaneously feed said sheet and said disc over the bottle mouth, means to engage and force said disc and the medial portion of said sheet into the bottle mouth, means to conform a portion of said sheet surrounding said disc to the adjacent portion -of the bead, and means positioned below and movable laterally relative to the last named means to mold and compress the marginal portion of said sheet to the portion of the bead that overhangs the neck and also to the neck adjacent its intersection with the bead.

3. An apparatus for applying two-part closures to the mouths and necks of milk bottles, composed of a continuous strip of pliable sheet-metal, means to sever and feed angular sheets of the metal over the bottle mouths, means to move fibrous discs into registry with the medial portions of said sheets, means to engage and force the discs and corresponding portions of the metal into the mouths, means to simultaneously conform the adjacent portions of said sheets to the portions of the .beads that flare from the circumference of said discs, means positioned below and movable laterally relative to the last name means to conform the marginal portions of said sheets to annular shoulders and at the intersection of the beads with the bottle necks, and means to contract and expand the last named conforming means and to move said means towards and away from the bottles.

4. A device for applying hooded closures to the mouths and necks of milk bottles, including means to feed sheets of pliable metal over the mouths, means to engage and force the medial portions of said sheets into the mouths, means to simultaneously conform portions of said sheets to the portions of the beads that rise above the bottom planes of the mouths, means comprising a pair of horizontally slidable jaws to gather and compress the marginal portions of said sheets against the remaining portions of the beads and the adjacent portions of the bottle necks while the medial portions of the sheets are forcibly held seated in the mouths, and means to relax the pressure upon said jaws and to open and move said jaws away from the bottles, while the latter are being removed and replaced. 5. An apparatusv for assembling and applying two-part milk bottle closures composed of a sheet of pliable material and a fibrous disc, comprising means to feed the ysheet over the bottle mouth and to position said disc in registry with the bottle mouth andv above said shvet, plunger' means adapted to engage and force the disc and the medial portion of said sheet into the mouth, means carried by the plunger means and movable therewith to conform the adjacent portion of the sheet to the portion of the bead that extends into the mouth, and horizontally movable and laterally swinging jaws cooperating with the last named means to conform the remaining portion of the sheet about the head and the adjacent portion of the bottle neck.

6. An apparatus for assembling and applying two-part milk bottle closures composed of a sheet of pliable material and brous disc, comprising means to feed the sheet over the bottle mouth and to position said disc in registry with the bottle mouth and spaced above said sheet, means to force the disc and medial portion of the sheet into the mouth and to conform the adjacent portion of the sheet to the portion of the bead that extends into the bottle mouth, and means movable at right angles to the last named means and cooperating therewith to conform the remaining portion of the sheet about the beag and the adjacent portion of the bottle nec In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

- JOHN A. PEASE. 

